


All in a Smile

by Pennygirl612



Category: White Collar
Genre: Feels, Gen, POV Neal Caffrey, POV Peter Burke, Protective Peter, Unsure Neal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 06:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19806499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pennygirl612/pseuds/Pennygirl612
Summary: I love watching him work.  Neal’s mind not only thinks outside of the box, hell, half the time I think he refuses to even acknowledge there actually is a box.  And when he’s in the zone like I know he is now, that’s my favorite time to just sit back and study him. Because it’s in these moments that the mask slips and Neal relaxes; his expression left unguarded.





	All in a Smile

All in a Smile

I love watching him work. Neal’s mind not only thinks outside of the box, hell, half the time I think he refuses to even acknowledge there actually is a box. And when he’s in the zone like I know he is now, that’s my favorite time to just sit back and study him. Because it’s in these moments that the mask slips and Neal relaxes; his expression left unguarded.

I hold my breath and wait. He’s close. A minute later, he has his “aha” moment and tells me what he’s found. He’s done it. He’s made the connection no one else could see. Of course, I never had any doubt. I knew he’d find it eventually because I know exactly what that brilliant mind of his is capable of. And now I can’t help but smile feeling so damn proud of the kid.

****

I look up and my breath catches. Peter’s sporting a crooked smile on his face. The one that makes him look half goofy. But it’s my favorite expression. Because it’s the one confirming I’ve done something good. It’s the one that says he’s proud of me. And I find myself unable to look away. I feel like a drowning man, and that smile is like a lifeline thrown out to save me. I wonder if he knows he is freely giving me a rare and precious gift worth far more than any of the priceless items I had stolen in my previous life. 

But I’m also feeling a little unsteady, uncertain. The smile plastered on my face meant to shield me cracks as Peter’s steady gaze pierces all my protective layers. Somehow this seems to make Peter lips upturn even more. The man is practically beaming before me and I have to look away. I have to because I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve to have him look at me this way.

****

I watch as Neal’s beaming, meant-to-charm smile fades. And I smile even more. The bright, shiny smile is the one he hides behind. It’s the one meant to distract so that you couldn’t even get a glimpse of the man within. But I see him. I have always seen the real him, and I also know just how damn much that terrifies him.

I bear witness to that fear now as Neal silently struggles before me. In the end, the bright smile loses its gloss and Neal lowers his eyes unable to maintain his confident façade. I patiently wait for him to meet my eyes. My patience is rewarded when he at last looks up but now with a shy, almost coy smile on his face. This is the smile I have been waiting for and it’s my favorite one. The one that says maybe I don’t deserve for you to look at me that way, but please, please don’t stop. 

Good, I tell myself, because I don’t plan to.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something that got stuck in my mind today and wouldn't let me write anything else. I blame Jeff Eastin for my renewed interest in WC fanfiction. When recently asked about any hope for WC coming back, Jeff responded: "There's definitely a chance." Darn him, I'm supposed to be working on my original...!


End file.
